


goodnight, midori.

by Hasumi



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: college/older au, kind of a character study but not really no, lets make midori older and see what development i can play with here, more like
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-09
Updated: 2019-09-09
Packaged: 2020-10-12 22:56:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20572301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hasumi/pseuds/Hasumi
Summary: After graduating, Midori's matured into a young adult. Or at least, that's what he thinks.(originally made as a way to figure out where i was going with my development rping a college aged midori, but i found this putting together my amalgamation of unfinished fics, and thought i might as well put this here. he's finished, at least!)





	goodnight, midori.

“Takamine, you’ve really gone far in life.”

The statement catches Midori off guard, bright blue eyes scanning the other’s face for any sign of malice, trying to find the telltales of a lie gone wrong. But when he meets with a genuine sparkle of life, a certain sort of amazement that he can’t imagine is meant for someone like him, his stomach twists into a knot.

He was an old friend of his from middle school, having met Midori when they sat next to each other in the morning. They often exchanged artificial greetings that’d fill the empty silence of the rest of their years together, nothing more, nothing less. It was that sort of juvenile friendship that fit someone like Midori, having someone be just a temporary part of his life before things fizzed out, evaporating in air like insignificant specks of dust.

To think he’d still recognize him after a measly handful of years, offering to “catch up” over some food and drinks was a surprise enough to him. Insecurities be damned, Midori was never the type to “stick out” even in his younger years, having flown under the radar despite being noticed for his particularly good looks. Because that’s all he had. Good looks, no personality, no goals, just a face that people would like to look at. But this guy.. This nameless face from his past, who seemed to have grown so much since the holes in his memory let him remember, still kept Midori tucked away in some part of his mind.

So, he went.

“Really?” Midori’s eyes squint up into half-moons, and the same charming smile he’s worked himself into practicing so much puts his old friend at ease. His tone is so full of life, yet feels so artificial. “My life is pretty simple, I think. We grow at our own pace.”

He remembers his name now, feeling a twinge of guilt that it only came with the sound of his glass clattering against the table. Takehiro flashes a toothy grin, crooked and sincere in contrast to Midori’s.

“Simple? You call bein’ an idol simple? Damn, you were always a humble and modest kid.” He raises his drink back to his lips, fingers sprawled out over the top as liquid spills out from the corners. “But I didn’t think you’d still be like that. I see your face all over the place, yanno?”

Midori tries not to let him see the way his eyes flick downward, expression darkening for a split second. By the time Takehiro glances at him, Midori’s already put on a cheery smile, voice melodic. 

“Eh? And here I thought you just remembered me from middle school, I forgot all about those.” A hand covers his mouth, stifling an airy chuckle. “Why wouldn’t I still be humble? It’s important to know where your roots are, and to not let things like small fame get to your head..”

‘Why does it feel like I’m reading lines out of a script? Why does this voice.. Never sound like my own?’

Chopsticks clack together, another insignificant noise drowned by the sea of night-life chatter. “My memory isn’t that good these days, I really let myself get wrapped up in the wrong crowd during high school. You were a real boring kid ‘n all, but I figured it was because you were a real mature type already.”

Midori shifts in his seat, feeling his mask crack.

“But I can recognize that face anywhere, always made me feel real jealous sometimes when I’d peep in on you and your idol guys’ performances. It’s amazing to see how much someone’s grown up!”

Glasses and porcelain clinking together fill the silence that follows. The women in the booth next to theirs are talking about their husbands’ working habits, intermingling with the cooing and gushing of the couple at the table across from their own, that's drowned out by the voice of a waitress helping a foreigner find the bathroom. Each sound, each sense, it all overwhelms him to the point that he doesn't realize he’s been staring down at his untouched food instead of just speaking.

“... Are you-”

“Can I go to the bathroom?” 

Midori slides out of his seat without giving him enough time to answer, avoiding the confused look of the nameless stranger from his past.

He has to hunch himself over the sink, chest heaving, letting his shadows dance along the tiled walls littered with mirrors. He’s gotten used to this routine of just staring himself down in the mirror, eyes lining over his features while he felt the sinking feeling return. To think he’d still get like this, despite how much time he’s given himself to grow out of such a pitiful stage of his life.. It was a little embarrassing, and maybe even quite sad.

Still. In solitude, dimly dyed by the yellow fluorescent lights, Midori breathes. 

He imagines himself sitting at the table once more, food gone cold. 

_“How can you say I’ve grown? How can anyone look at me.. and think I’ve matured at all, like I’ve done anything other than drag my feet?” he’d say in full confidence, bright blue eyes as dull and dead as his reflection. “I find it funny to think that ever since I was a kid, everyone thought I had a good head on my shoulders._

__

__

_You’re not the only one who has these high expectations of me. Thinking that by now, I’d be a well-adjusted adult excited for their life ahead of them. But in all actuality, I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m not a kid anymore, but I still feel so young and helpless sometimes and it’s unfair of me to act this way.”_

The women in the booth next to them would have probably gone home by now, both agreeing to meet again at the same time next week. The couple across from them would have said the wrong thing to one another, sparking into a hushed argument that got drowned out by the voice of a waitress helping a foreigner read the menu. And Takehiro, Takehiro would sit there, staring Midori down with contempt as the last of his respect fizzed up into the air. Evaporating like insignificant specks of dust.

_“I feel like I’ve grown so much in just two years, yet I haven’t changed one bit. How can you think I’ve gone far in life, when I’ve only walked myself into a circle this whole time?_

__

__

_You don’t even know who I am, you liar.”_

His fingers dig into the sides of the sink, dull nails scraping against the perfect porcelain as he shakily exhaled. He stares back at the man in the mirror, wondering if a rotting corpse would seem more alive.

“Takamine! I was a little worried cause you were gone for so long, I wasn’t gonna let you live if you left me with the check, ya bastard.”

Takehiro raps his knuckles against the side of the wall, quirking an eyebrow as Midori brushes his fringe out of his face. Midori straightens himself up to turn back to his old friend, giving him an insincere and perfect grin.

“Sorry about that! Did you end up seeing those cute girls next to us? We should try talking to them if they’re still around.”

Whatever his response is, it’s muffled out by the nothingness that still floods Midori’s consciousness, drowned out by the noise of night-life chatter that joins them once he walks back out the door. Reading off of his script, he continues to manufacture this perfect adult self, even if it’ll only hold itself for this night and this night only.

_“You liar.” _

**Author's Note:**

> i'm sure older midori in canon will be a lot more sincerely happy. i hope.


End file.
